Bold, Confident Access Grows Bolder and Confidenter with Use

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,Ephesians 3:11–15 ESV Read More

It’s easy to read all of this awesome stuff in Ephesians and think “Paul must be on the best spiritual retreat/mission trip/Bible conference ever!” Not quite. He’s sitting in prison while he writes all of this. His visual perspective is prison walls and punishment, but his outlook is the Glory of Heaven and eternal grace. As he has been writing this letter, he has been meditating and thinking deeply about all of the truths that he is teaching.I can tell you from experience that writing about the truths of Jesus helps you to know Him better!
This little section is a helpful cause and effect setup. Here is how it works: The eternal purpose of God is that in Christ Jesus we would have boldness and confident access to God through faith.Bold, confident access
Have you ever had bold confident access to anyone before? Maybe when I was 8 I had bold, confident access to my mom, but I didn’t appreciate it then. How about bold, confident access to someone that is way more powerful than you? It’s hard to ask for a raise or vacation time during a busy season at work, much less to go in there with bold, confident access.
Contrast that with the way many people think about God. How many folks come into OneLife surprised that the roof didn’t cave in on them when they came in the door? (More people than you’d think.) I’ve talked to many people that shudder at the thought of coming to church. Not because of some wrong that was done to them by church people, but by genuine shame about what they think God thinks of them.
Jesus said to go out and preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He lived and acted like He had bold and confident access to God, and other people could have that access too. If we get in the habit of pondering and using our bold, confident access to God, when the time comes, it will overflow out of our lives. The overflow of the greatness of God comes as Paul lived it, talked about it, and shared it. The more he shared, the deeper into Jesus’ truth he went.
We have that bold access to God. We can get on our knees no matter what we are suffering and contemplate His glory. At that point, no one will have to tell us to share what we believe, because it will overflow like a soda fountain that won’t shut off.
What can we do today with bold, confident access to God?
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